CEDAR HILL — Jackie Merrell has a hard time turning away animals. Her 14-year-old Yorkie, Teka, came to her with no teeth and broken ribs. Piper, a longhaired Chihuahua, had a dislocated shoulder.

And Molly, a Maltese, was in good shape — so much so that she blessed her with eight babies.

Merrell, 71, is healthy enough to take care of most of her pets' needs. But there are a couple of things she won't do: trim the animals' nails and groom Teka.

So she turns to Tri-City Animal Shelter, which has made house calls to senior residents a regular part of its daily operations.

"There's just such an obvious need for it," said Merrell, who shares a home with her son, the three dogs, and at any given time, a number of foster pets.

Jackie Merrell holds her 15-year-old dog at her home in Cedar Hill. Tammy Miller, manager of Tri-City Animal Shelter, makes in-home visits to senior residents with pets and provides their care.

(Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer)

Tri-City, which serves Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville, started the house-call program as a one-day-only service project in January. About a month later, it became available on an as-needed basis.

"We are by no means vets or vet techs, but we're around 6,000 animals a year, so a lot of times, at the very least we can tell if something is wrong where many pet owners can't," shelter director Tammy Miller said.

About eight shelter volunteers — who often include paid staff members Miller and her assistant, Shelley Meeks — participate in the program. Duties can include delivering food, checking or even implanting microchips, trimming nails, doing basic grooming and even dropping off and picking up pets from the vet — all for free.

Any pet owner 55 or older living in one of the shelter's three service cities is eligible for in-home visits. Younger, disabled residents who need help getting by are also eligible.

Molly, an 8-year-old Maltese, gets her nails trimmed during an in-home visit by Tri-City Animal Shelter staff in Cedar Hill.

(Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer)

Miller estimates that the shelter serves about 35 families. She's not aware of any other shelter with a similar program.

Making a call

Barbara Reeves, 67, figures she might be Tri-City's first house call customer.

"I had heard a friend mention that [shelter staff] came to the senior center to tell folks about it, but nobody ever signed up," Reeves said. "I said,'Well, you better believe I'm going to be giving them a call.'"

Reeves, who has lived in Cedar Hill for 47 years, has two Chihuahuas — Penny Lane and April May — and one indoor cat, Felix, that need attention from time to time. Shelter personnel also help out with an outside stray cat that moves between Reeves' home and her daughter's.

Reeves estimates she's received about five visits from shelter representatives, usually Miller and Meeks.

"Those two ladies are just two of the most caring people you'll ever meet," Reeves said. "They'll do just about anything they can for you, and I told them I was going to spread the word about them."

The free service costs the shelter almost nothing because the food they drop off generally has been donated. The only cost to the shelter comes with providing microchips, but that's negligible, Miller said.

'We will get there'

The program was inspired by a day of service developed in 2014 under City Manager Greg Porter. He believed that Martin Luther King Jr. Day would be a perfect day for city employees to go into the community and help residents.

"The employee group here has always been sort of community-centric and they do these things organically, whether it's helping an older person replace a bad air conditioner or getting invested in the community in some other ways," Porter said.

In the animal shelter's case, one day of service grew into a permanent part of the publicly-owned shelter's mission.

"I can't say, oh, yes, making it a year-round thing really was my master plan the whole time, but I am glad that's the case," Porter said.

Miller said no one will be turned away if it's a service the shelter can provide. There is no waiting list, but even if one becomes necessary, "I promise you we will get there," she said.